Recent Posts

11

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by zhang on April 08, 2019, 10:47:32 PM »

Hello Nelson,

After reading the advice from the maker, we found that we did something wrong in connecting the board to the PSU, and now it is OK!! The galvos mirrors rotate as expected!! Also, thank you for your help!!
 

ZHANG

12

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by zhang on March 24, 2019, 01:11:34 AM »

Actually, we received the first reply from the seller and described what problem we met, but it seems to take a little time before the next reply. Hoping to get some hint   

13

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by Macpod on March 21, 2019, 12:39:18 AM »

Hello Zang,

For video1, it looks like you have everything connected but you are not running the lasershark_stdin app? I am assuming this because it looks like all wires are connected in the video and I see green power led and green usb led of the lasershark are on.

If everything were functioning correctly the lasershark would print a continuous signal in this state. The fact the galvos are moving is a problem.

In video2 it looks like the power LEDs on the galvo amplifier board are pulsing. Is this a camera artifact or is this really happening?  This shouldn't happen nor should they be turning off. The click sounds like the laser mirror is quickly rotating to the absolute max point (which is not something you wan't to have happen.)



Either there is still an issue with the galvo and amplifiers, the wiring is incorrect, or the amplifiers/dac have been damaged on the lasershark. It is a new galvo kit so the galvo and amplifiers shouldn't be damaged yet.. from before it looks like you have the galvo x and y channels wired correctly. Can you validate with the seller the orientation of the ribbon cable?
 

14

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by zhang on March 19, 2019, 07:48:42 AM »

Hello Nelson:

Sorry for delaying so long for returning to China.

The fluttering noise may be the sound of fans attached on laser.

Situations of now:

1. When we only plug in the power supply of the galvos kit, the mirrors will rotate in small angle for unknown reasons. And after 2mins, one of the two LEDs will turn off automatically with a big "click" sound, meanwhile, the mirrors stop movement.
video1

2. The time when I run the demo of circle_maker or the Openlase samples through the Jack, the laser will turn on or off perfectly but the galvos mirrors will be down immediately.
video2

Or maybe it is the galvo kits' problem (new ones are almost same galvo kit as before)? 

15

LaserShark Discussion / Re: Display ILDA test images with laser shark?

« Last post by Macpod on March 18, 2019, 09:34:23 PM »

Hi Simon,

The dearth of information likely stems from the fact people either use the LaserShark with OpenLase for dynamic output, for 3d printers, or for other scientific/telecommunication/industrial purposes.

OpenLase does have a very basic ilda file player. it talks directly with jack so you will need to add connection in patchbay to use it. I've attached a screenshot of my patchbay. If you set this up you can test it out with the simulator without needing to buy/make a LaserShark first. I would recommend this so there aren't any unexpected surprises

playilda <ilda file>
playilda -s <ildafile> <rate>

16

LaserShark Discussion / Display ILDA test images with laser shark?

« Last post by SL on March 17, 2019, 10:07:42 AM »

Hello macpod forum users,

I have some galvos which I am driving using a custom python script via a microprocessor, DAC chip and some OpAmps. All working as expected but I can't use this to tune my galvos.

Therefore I wanted to swap to using a laser shark. Before I purchase one I wanted to check, how to display the ilda test images using macpod? I feel like this should be quite easy but somehow I couldn't find a definitive answer.

Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks,
Simon

17

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by Macpod on February 10, 2019, 01:53:04 PM »

Hello Zhang,

Ok, so you have replaced the galvos themselves as well as the galvo amplifiers.

When circlemaker is running the voltages quickly swing one direction and then the other. You would not be able to measure the Lasershark X and Y channel voltages with a voltmeter, you would need to use an oscilloscope. Measuring with a voltmeter would just show a a varying voltage.

I do not hear a switching/clicking noise in the video.

I do hear a "fluttering" noise which sounds like the galvos rotating back and fourth as expected. The galvos do not move a significant amount so it is best to test with a low power laser (i.e. a laser pointer) to identify if the galvos are moving.

If you were unaware the galvos do not rotate 360 degrees when running. Instead they turn clockwise/counterclockwise by a small degree (30-45 degrees max usually) very quickly like the needle of an analog voltmeter.

18

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by zhang on February 10, 2019, 04:31:11 AM »

Hi Nelson,

Thanks for your reply! 

There are no more stacks of the same galvo kit we bought at first and we are worried about that if the board doesn't match the mirrors, so we replace them including the mirrors, but it seems no change.

And the noise is from the amplifier but hard to tell exactly which part on the board.
And the voltage I just measured is the output-pins on lasershark-board, wanting to confirm that whether the output from lasershark-board works well or not.

Here is the video(sound may not record):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rAAdLj_q-UDPRZy9PQWOFbXaRj1sTkjG/view?usp=sharing
And I found that the LED will turn off automatically after a period of time(about 20s？) if I do nothing, just like the situation as I post here at Jan 09.

19

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by Macpod on February 09, 2019, 07:35:29 PM »

Hi Zhang,

JACK is only required for running OpenLase and lasershark_jack. The galvo/laser control data is sent using the JACK audio daemon here. You do not need to do steps 1, 2, 3 if you just want to use lasershark_stdin.

You do not need JACK or OpenLase to use lasershark_stdin, lasershark_stdin_circlemaker, or lasershark_stdin_displayimage.

Did you replace both the galvo amplifiers and galvos or just the galvo amplifier boards?
What component is causing the clicking noise the clicking?
What are you measuring the output voltage on?

20

LaserShark Support / Re: Galvos no movement need help

« Last post by zhang on February 08, 2019, 04:59:25 AM »

Hello Nelson,

And we finally get the new board of galvos, but it seems upset that the previous problem might not be the board of galvo.

When we set them up and do nothing, both of the LEDs are on and seems no problem, but the time we run the draw_circle test, one of the LEDs turns off with an obvious sound like pressing a switch off. And now I'm very confused about what I should do next. The output voltage of TTL 2 pins are 5V but the ones on 3 pins(X,Y) are not stable , varying from -0.1mV to -150mV.
And to confirm, I want to know that is it necessary to install the JACK service even if I just not run the OPENLASE but the draw_circle test, right?
And if I want to configure the OPENLASE, I need to install
1.https://github.com/marcan/openlase/wiki/Installation
2.https://github.com/marcan/openlase/wiki/JACK_and_Openlase_Configuration
3.Compiling and Using the Lasershark Jack Host Application (for use with OpenLase) part in http://macpod.net/electronics/lasershark/lasershark_usage_linux.php
We are not so familiar with the hardware but just want to know more about it!